Dryer for a film processing machine



P 1964 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL 3,147,090

DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 17, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 HAROLD 0. RUSSELL CHARLES J KU/VZ INVENTORS BY pgi/jM/ A 7' TORNEYS Sept. 1, 1964 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 1'7, 1957 HAROLD D. RUSSELL CHARLES J KU/VZ INVENTORS BY %;M/%;/

A 7' TORNEYS P 1964 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL 3,147,090

DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 1'7, 195'? 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 HAROLD D. RUSSELL CHARLES J KU/VZ INVENTORS A T TO/FNEYS p 1964 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL 3,147,090

DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 17, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 [L fin 43 44 i A v HAROLD D. RUSSELL CHARLES J KU/VZ INVENTORS A T TOR/VE Y8 Sept. 1, 1964 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL 3,147,090

DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 17, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 HAROLD D. RUSSELL CHARLES J KU/VZ INVENTORS BY m ATTORNEYS Sept. 1, 1964 H. D. RU'SSELL ETAL DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed Sept. 17, 1957 HAROLD D. RUSSELL CH ARLES .L KU/VZ INVENTORS p 1964 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL 3,147,090

DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 17, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 HAROLD 0. RUSSELL mama's .1 xu/vz INVENTORS BY 5: QM

ATTORNEY Sept. 1, 1964 Original Filed Sept. 17, 1957 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 HA ROLD 0. RUSSELL CHARLES J KU/VZ INVENTORS BY $4.1M

ATTORNEYS Sept. 1, 1964 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL 3,147,090

DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 1?,1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 HAROLD 0. RUSSELL CHARLES J KU/VZ INVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,147,090 DRYER FOR A FILM PROCESSING MACPINE Harold D. Russet! and Charles J. Kunz, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Original appiication Sept. 17, 1957, Ser. No. 684,552, now Patent No. 3,025,779, dated Mar. 20, 1962. Divided and this application May 17, 1961, Ser. No. 112,489

5 Claims. (Cl. 334-160) This invention relates generally to processing machines, and more specifically to an improved self-threading machine for processing film and is a division of application Serial Number 684,552, filed September 17, 1957, now Patent No. 3,025,779 dated March 20, 1962.

Apparatus for processing film having a gelatinous coating on one or both sides is well known in the art. By a gelatinous coating, applicants mean any natural or synthetic hydrophilic organic colloid such as gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol or the like. Apparatus presently commercially available on the market for processing this type of film generally comprises a series of tanks for holding the developing, fixing and washing solutions, film hangers for holding a single sheet of film, and a continuosuly movable transport system for supporting and moving the hangers through the solutions and into a drying chamber. The film hangers utilized in these machines each generally comprise a rectangular frame member having clip means for releasably securing a sheet of film thereto, and a hook for removably attaching the hanger to the transport sys tem. The hanger system for supporting film has been adopted by the industry because it minimizes the physical contact to which the gelatinous coating of the film is exposed. The processing solutions and drying medium are the only elements in contact with the coating. Conse quently, the danger of the gelatinous coating being marred or damaged is virtually eliminated. Although the adoption of hangers has been successful to the extent indicated, it is disadvantageous in that a complicated and bulky hanger transport system is needed to successfully transport the hangers through the machine. the processing machines utilizing the film hangers and transport system are normally bulky and occupy a floor space of considerable area. Since these machines are often installed in hospitals and clinics Where floor space is at a premium, the large area occupied by these machines is a disadvantage of considerable importance.

The transport of sheets of material by rollers is well known and is preferable to hangers because it is less bulky reducing the floor space requirements of the over-all proc- Consequently,

essing machine, and provides a faster transport, thereby greatly reducing the time required to process a film, particularly where the material is transported through a tortuous path. However, the application of the roller-transport system to processing apparatus for gelatincoated film in the past has been entirely unsuccessful resulting in a product of generally poor quality containing drying streaks and other imperfections. The gelatin-coated film when transported through a drying chamber passes through a critical drying period at which time the gelatinous coating becomes tacky. It appears that contact of the gelatinous coating by the rollers during the critical drying period coupled with non-uniform drying of the film has been responsible heretofore for the failure of the roller-transport system to successfully transport gelatincoated film through the processing machine. Applicants have presently invented an improved processing machine for gelatin-coated film that is the first machine to successfully utilize the obviously preferred roller-transport system and produce a finished product more rapidly than any machine known heretofore and of consistently high quality.

Therefore, one of the primary objects of this invention is to provide an improved machine for processing gela tin-coated film in which the film is transported through all stages of the processing by a roller-transport system.

Another object of this invention is to provide an important dryer for gelatin-coated film in which the film is transported by rollers and subjected to oppositely disposed uniform and symmetrical air streams directed normal to and extending across the entire width of the film.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an improved processing device for X-ray film and the like that will permit hospital patients to be released more quickly, will permit the examination of patients at any time during the day, and will permit a patient to be X-rayed and the X-ray film processed While he is undergoing an operation.

One more object of the invention is to provide an improved processing machine for X-ray film and the like that eliminates the necessity for taking wet readings which are sometimes required when using the prior art processing machines.

And one more object of this invention is to provide an improved drier for gelatin-coated film that is adapted to successfully dry sheets of film of varying Width without modifying the drying chamber.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved processing apparatus for X-ray film and the like that is simple to operate, requires a minimum of operator attention and produces a completed product of excellent quality and uniformity.

Objects and advantages other than those set forth will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a processing machine embodying the invention with a portion thereof sectioned to schematically show the roller transport system;

FIG. 2 is a view partly in section taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the roller-transport system of the film loading section;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a portion of the wet processing section with a crossover roller system, shown in a removed position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drive motor for the entire roller-transport system of the processing machine;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a roller-transport mechanism for transporting the film through the processing liquid baths with a portion thereof broken away to expose certain parts;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the crossover roller-transport mechanism adapted to turn the film through an angle of 180";

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevation view of a portion of the web processing section with a part thereof broken away;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the entrance to the drier taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the drier with several of the air tubes and transport rollers removed;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the drier showing the opposite end of the rollers and air tubes of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary view in section showing the structure for aligning and removably securing the air tubes to the drier.

As shown in the drawings, the machine for processing gelatin-coated film such as X-ray film or non-curl portrait film comprises three sections, namely, a film loading section 10, a wet processing section 11 and a film drier 12.

The film loading section 10 is the only portion of the processing machine that is situated in a darkroom set off by wall partition 13 and has a film holder 14 for holding sheets of exposed film. The loading section 10 has a platform 15 upon which a sheet of exposed film is placed and fed between two pairs of oppositely disposed transport rollers 16, 17 drivingly connected together by gears 18, 19 as seen in FIG. 3. Microswitches 21 are positioned above one of the rollers 17 and are closed by upward movement of the roller 17 to actuate a magnetic clutch 22 disconnecting the transport rollers 16, 17 from the main drive system when two sheets of film, one on top of the other, are mistakenly fed therethrough. The operator can then remove the film from the stopped rollers 16, 17 and singly feed them through the transport rollers which are once again drivingly connected to the drive system. The main drive system will be explained in greater detail hereinafter.

The wet processing section 11 is located outside of the darkroom and is fully enclosed and lighttight. The wet section 11 has four tanks disposed in side-by-side relation; the first tank 23 containing a developer solution, the second tank 24 a hardener stop bath solution, the third tank 25 a fixer solution and the fourth tank 26 a wash solution or water. The developer solution may be of any known type such as Kodak Rapid X-Ray Developer which is commercially available. The hardener stop bath formula is a modified Kodak Hardener Fa formula with the addition of 120 grams per liter of sodium sulfate instead of sodium sulfite. The useful pH range of the hardener bath in practice is preferably 4.2 to 4.8. As the pH of the bath increases during use, the films become more tacky in the drier 12. The addition of the sodium sulfate to the hardener bath restricts the swelling of the gelatinous coatings of the film and prevents the tackiness of the film from becoming excessive during drying. The addition of sodium sulfate to the hardener stop bath further promotes better washing at a lower pH value.

The fixing bath is a relatively high pH formula similar to Kodak Fixing Bath F-24 compounded with ammonium thiosulfate for rapid fixing and rapid removal of hypo during washing. Although a high pH fixing bath is desirable for more rapid Washing, it also tends to produce a film with a greater degree of tackiness during drying. Since the film is being transported by rollers engaging at least one gelatinous coating of the film, it is desired to hold the tackiness of the film to a minimum.

Each of the tanks in the wet processing section 11 is provided with a frame member 27 carrying a plurality of parallel, staggered rollers 28 arranged in offset relation as seen in FIGS. 1 and 6 for transporting the film downwardly and upwardly within each tank. The rollers 28 are provided with sprockets 29 near one end which are drivingly connected to one another by an endless chain 31 as seen in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8. Each member 27 is provided at the bottom with a turn-around roller system 32 as shown in FIG. 6 for turning the film through an angle of 180 when it reaches the bottom of the tank. The roller system 32 comprises a frame 33 for supporting a large diameter roller 34. A plurality of small diameter rollers 35 are disposed around approximately 180 of the periphery of the roller 34 and urged into engagement therewith by springs 36 secured to the frame 33 at each end of the system with the intermediate portion of the spring passing over pulleys 37 carried by the ends of the rollers 35. The roller 34 is provided with gears 38 at each end drivingly connected to gears 39 carried by the rollers 35. One end of the shaft of the roller 34 passes through an opening formed by the frame 32 and is provided with a sprocket 41 connected by the endless chain 31 to the sprockets 29 and a sprocket 31) mounted on a drive spindle 44 carried by the frame member 27, as seen in FIGS. 6 and 8. A similar type of crossover roller system 42, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 7, is provided at the top of the tanks and interposed between adjacent tanks to transport the film from one tank through an angle of 180 into the adjacent tank and to remove the surface water from the film. All parts of the roller system 42 that are identical to similar parts of roller system 32 will be represented by the same numbers. In the roller systems 42, the shaft of roller 34 is lengthened and a gear 48 instead of a sprocket 41, as in system 32, is secured to the shaft to mesh with a gear 43 mounted on the drive spindle 44. Gear 45 secured to the drive spindle 44, as seen in FIGS. 6 and 8, meshes with a worm 46 carried by a shaft 47 having a coupling 48 at one end and a gear 49 at the other. The frame 33 is further provided with support elements 51 received by recesses 52 formed by the frame member 27 to support the roller systems 42 between adjacent tanks. Rotation of the shaft 47 by the drive system causes the worm 46 to drive gear 45 to rotate spindle 44. Rotation of spindle 44 causes sprocket 30 to drive the rollers 28 and turn-around system 32, and gear 43 to drive gear 41 and the crossover roller system 42.

After the film has been thoroughly washed in the washing tank 25, it is directed into the drier 12 by a roller system 68, shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, similar to the crossover roller system 42 but adapted to turn the film through an angle of instead of 180. The drier 12 essentially comprises, as seen in FIG. 1, a drying chamber 53, a roller-transport system 54 for transporting the film through the chamber and out of the outlet shown at the extreme right of FIG. 1, and a warm air system 55 for drying the film. The roller-transport system 54, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, comprises pairs of oppositely disposed rollers 56 laterally spaced from one another and adapted to transport the film through the drying chamber 53. The rollers 56 do not extend across the drying chamber 53, as seen in FIG. 2, to provide a passageway 50 through which air may be exhausted from the drying chamber 53. The rollers 56 are preferably made of a material that minimizes damage to the gelatinous coating of the film caused by the rollers adhering to or marring the coating when in contact therewith. Materials of this type are butyl rubber, synthetic polyethylene, Teflon, or rollers having an epoxy resin coating. One end of the rollers 56 is supported by brackets 57, as seen in FIG. 12, and the opposite end provided with pinions 58, as shown in FIG. 11, driven by worms 59 secured to a shaft 61 which is carried by support brackets 62. The shaft 61 has a gear 63 at one end, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, driven by a gear 64 carried by a stub shaft having a coupling member 65 at one end connected to the coupling member 48, as seen in FIG. 8. A pair of oppositely disposed squeegee rollers 66 is provided at the inlet or entrance of the drier 12, as shown in FIG. 9, drivingly connected together by gears 67 at one end. One of the rollers 66 is provided with a gear 68 at the opposite end connected by means of a pinion 69 and worm 71 to a drive gear 72 mounted on the stub shaft, as best seen in FIG. 10.

The warm air supply system 55, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a main duct 73 having one end forming two branches 74, 75 connected to air plenums 76, 77 disposed along each side of the drier 12 and forming the sides of the drying chamber 53. The opposite end of the duct 73 is connected to an air blower 78 driven by a motor 79. Interposed between the blower 78 and the duct 73 is an air heater 81 for heating the air to a temperature preferably ranging from to F., and a filter 82 for removing all the dirt particles contained therein. A baffie 70 forms the lower wall of the drying chamber 53 and cooperates with the sides of the drying chamber 53 to provide passages 80 along each side for exhausting air from the chamber to the inlet of the blower 78. The baffle 70 prevents the suction developed by the blower 78 from pulling the film out of the film path which is between the rollers 54. The plenums 76, 77 are provided with a plurality of openings 83, 86, respectively,

as seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, for receiving cylindrical airdirecting tubes 84. One end of each of the tubes 84 has a portion 85 of reduced outside diameter adapter to be inserted through one of the complementary openings 83, as seen in FIG. 13. The opposite end of the tube 84 is provided with a sleeve 87 having a portion at one end of reduced outside diameter adapted to be received by one of the complementary openings 86 in the other plenum 77. The opposite end of the sleeve 87 is cut along a plane that is at an angle with respect -to the sleeve axis to form a cam surface 88. A pin 89 is inserted through openings formed completely through each pair of tubes 84 to properly align the tubes so that elongated slits 91 formed by each tube 84 are in register. Once the tube portions are inserted in the openings 83, 86, the sleeve 87 is turned about the tube 84 until the cam surface 88 engages the pin 89 to secure the tube to the plenums 76, 77. Each tube 84 is further provided with an adjusting screw 92, as seen in FIG. 11, for varying the width of the slit 91, and a plurality of spaced-apart guide wires 93 for guiding the film between the next adjacent drive rollers 56. The warm air is circulated through the drier 12 until it becomes laden with moisture and suitable venting means, not shown, is provided for venting the moisture-laden air and introducing additional air. The slits 91 of each pair of air tubes 84 which are in register with one another direct unobstructed symmetrical sheets of warm air normal to and extending across the entire width of the film. As will be appreciated by those familiar with aerodynamic principles, directing or canting of the air flow upstream toward the inlet portion of the drier 12 will tend to seriously increase any tendency of the leading edges to be deflected from the self-threading path. Although a certain amount of downstream cant of the air flow is acceptable, such upstream canting tends to cause misthreading. The passageways 50 at the end of rollers 56, the passages 80 formed by the bafiie 70 and the spacedapart rollers 56 and air tubes 84 cooperate to provide an unrestricted path to the fiow of air leaving the film surfaces and to eliminate any appreciable back pressure to the air directed against the film.

The drive system for the processing machine is shown in FIG. as including an electric motor 94 provided with a drive sprocket 95 connected by a chain 96 to a sprocket 97 secured to a shaft 98. The shaft 98 has a sprocket 99 laterally spaced from sprocket 97 and connected by a chain 101 to the sprocket 49 to provide motive power, as seen in FIG. 8, for the roller-transport system in the wet processing section 11 and for the roller-transport system in the drier 12. The shaft 98 has another sprocket 102 laterally spaced from sprocket 97 and connected by a chain 103 to a sprocket 104 secured to a stub shaft 105 which is operatively connected to the magnetic clutch 22, as seen in FIG. 3. The clutch 22 is also connected to a bevel gear 106 meshing with another bevel gear 107 carried by one end of one of the rollers 16.

In the operation of this invention, the operator in the darkroom removes a sheet of film from the film holder 14 and feeds the film to the transport rollers 16, 17 which direct the film to the film processing section 11. The film is transported by the rollers 28 and roller systems 32, 42 through the developer, stop bath, fixer and washing tanks 23, 24, 25 and 26, respectively, and thence through the squeegee rollers 66 which remove most of the remaining surface water from the film. The film is then transported by the rollers 56 through the drying chamber 53 where the gelatinous coating or coatings of the film are subjected to oppositely disposed symmetrical sheets of warm air directed normal to and extending across the entire width of the film.

Although but one embodiment has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein 9 without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a self-threading dryer for gelatin-coated film, the combination comprising:

(A) means defining a drying chamber having an inlet and an outlet for unobstructed passage of gelatinccated film into and out of the chamber;

(B) a roller-transport system disposed in said chamber between the inlet and the outlet and having a plurality of spaced apart pairs of oppositely disposed rollers having surfaces for engaging opposite sides of the film therebetween, and drive means only at the ends of the rollers and including gear means to positively drive the rollers for self-threading and a shaft containing worm gears distributed along its length for engagement with the respective gear means for positive driving thereof for transporting the film through said chamber between the surfaces of the pairs of rollers;

(C) a source means of pressurized warm air; said source means comprising:

(1) a single blower;

(2) a pair of plenums one disposed on each side of said drying chamber and extending along the length of said drying chamber transversely to said rollers of said roller-transport system;

(3) a duct connecting said blower to both of said plenums; and

(4) a heater for warming the air passing through said duct; and

(D) a pair of oppositely disposed air directing means interposed between adjacent pairs of said rollers with each connected to receive air from both of said ple mums, and positioned to direct unobstructed symmetrical sheets of warm air substantially normal to and extending across the entire width of each side of the film transported between said rollers by said roller-transport system.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said plenums are provided with aligned openings for receiving opposite ends of said air directing means.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said air directing means comprises a plurality of cylindrical tubes parallel to said rollers and each having a longitudinal slit of a length at least as great as the width of the film to be dried.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein each of said tubes has one end received by one of said openings in one of said plenums, and a sleeve at the opposite end of said tube received by one of said openings in the other of said plenums.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein said sleeve has a securing surface spaced from said other plenum, and a pin extending transversely through each pair of oppositely disposed tubes to position said tubes with said slits in proper drying orientation, said pin and said securing surface co-operating upon rotation of said sleeve to maintain the tube in position on said plenums.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 314,783 Beebe Mar. 31, 1885 1,725,708 Fowler Aug. 20, 1929 1,930,575 Wynd et a1 Oct. 17, 1933 2,057,903 Moreland et a1 Oct. 20, 1936 2,289,753 Capstalf July 14, 1942 2,534,205 Newhall et 'a1 Dec. 12, 1950 2,640,277 Dungler June 2, 1953 2,691,225 Kamprath Oct. 12, 1954 2,760,410 Gillis Aug. 28, 1956 2,948,968 Breyer Aug. 16, 1960 

1. IN A SELF-THREADING DRYER FOR GELATIN-COATED FILM, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: (A) MEANS DEFINING A DRYING CHAMBER HAVING AN INLET AND AN OUTLET FOR UNOBSTRUCTED PASSAGE OF GELATINCOATED FILM INTO AND OUT OF THE CHAMBER; (B) A ROLLER-TRANSPORT SYSTEM DISPOSED IN SAID CHAMBER BETWEEN THE INLET AND THE OUTLET AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART PAIRS OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSED ROLLERS HAVING SURFACES FOR ENGAGING OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FILM THEREBETWEEN, AND DRIVE MEANS ONLY AT THE ENDS OF THE ROLLERS AND INCLUDING GEAR MEANS TO POSITIVELY DRIVE THE ROLLERS FOR SELF-THREADING AND A SHAFT CONTAINING WORM GEARS DISTRIBUTED ALONG ITS LENGTH FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE RESPECTIVE GEAR MEANS FOR POSITIVE DRIVING THEREOF FOR TRANSPORTING THE FILM THROUGH SAID CHAMBER BETWEEN THE SURFACES OF THE PAIRS OF ROLLERS; (C) A SOURCE MEANS OF PRESSURIZED WARM AIR; SAID SOURCE MEANS COMPRISING: (1) A SINGLE BLOWER; (2) A PAIR OF PLENUMS ONE DISPOSED ON EACH SIDE OF SAID DRYING CHAMNBER AND EXTENDING ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID DRYING CHAMBER TRANSVERSELY TO SAID ROLLERS OF SAID ROLLER-TRANSPORT SYSTEM; (3) A DUCT CONNECTING SAID BLOWER TO BOTH OF SAID PLENUMS; AND (4) A HEATER FOR WARMING THE AIR PASSING THROUGH SAID DUCT; AND (D) A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSED AIR DIRECTING MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN ADJACENT PAIRS OF SAID ROLLERS WITH EACH CONNECTED TO RECEIVE AIR FROM BOTH OF SAID PLENUMS, AND POSITIONED TO DIRECT UNOBSTRUCTED SYMMETRICAL SHEETS OF WARM AIR SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF EACH SIDE OF THE FILM TRANSPORTED BETWEEN SAID ROLLERS BY SAID ROLLER-TRANSPORT SYSTEM. 